Around 1,000 additional frontline staff and students are set to join NHS Forth Valley to help respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Over the past month, 300 staff have joined NHS Forth Valley’s local staff bank. The majority (around 70%) are nurses and healthcare support workers however a number of doctors, domestic staff, pharmacy, theatre, administrative staff, drivers and laboratory staff have returned to help maintain services at this challenging time. A further 400 individuals, who responded to the national appeal for staff to return to work in NHS Scotland, have indicated they wish to work in NHS Forth Valley. 

Nicola Philips, Student Nurse

In addition, hundreds of nursing students from the University of Stirling and a number of final year medical students will be joining NHS Forth Valley in the next few weeks to support colleagues across the organisation.

Many existing staff have also been redeployed to new roles to deliver vital services. These include dental nurses from NHS Forth Valley’s community dental and Childsmile team who are now working at local drive through testing centres for key workers. 

Others have undertaken additional training to support the expansion of intensive care services at Forth Valley Royal Hospital to ensure there is sufficient capacity to treat patients who require more specialist support.

Linda Donaldson, Director of HR for NHS Forth Valley, said:   “Fast tracking and processing applications to recruit additional staff as quickly as possible has required a lot of effort and I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work so far.

“The new staff and students will provide invaluable support across the organisation and ensure we are able to continue to deliver urgent care and essential services at this challenging time.”  

Pictured: Dr Peter Murdoch, Consultant, Nicola Philips, Student Nurse.